A New Arrival

[Saephara]

Tifa had wandered for days in this strange land. She had visited several small villages along the way that had offered her food and shelter for a night, protecting her from whatever dangers lay on the darkened edges of the landscape at night. After her adventure in Midgar, she had returned to the old 7th Heaven and grabbed several items to go on a journey, planning to rediscover the world and see if anything else had reverted in time to return to the past. Unknowingly, stepping back through the entrance to exit her bar had left her in this unknown world. She had turned, hoping to return, but had no luck.

With a soft grunt, Tifa pulled her knapsack up higher on her back. Inside were 8 various Materia she had managed to hold onto before her meeting Cloud the first time, a change of clothes, and the bare essentials of food to live off of: bread, water, and some cheese. In both side pockets of her cargo pants were her fighting gloves, Premium Heart and God's Hand.

Onward she kept walking, her boots landing in the soft grass as she crossed a large plane. About an hour back, she had seen what looked like large buildings and decided to head in that direction. A gentle breeze blew, shifting the tiny wisps of green along the ground, causing the trees around to sway softly as if they were stuck in a never-ending dance with the sky. A smile crept along Tifa's lips. She felt at peace here in nature. She wished she could stay in this area but knew she needed knowledge of this beautiful place. She took a deep breath to savor the sweet scent and walked into the distance, approaching her destination with every step.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wow..." The first sight of this vast city simply took Tifa's breath away as she approached what looked like the entrance. It was as if there were another Midgar here on this planet. In the distance she saw such technological advances, she couldn't believe that such things existed. It must have looked as though she were paralyzed to others, she stood so still. She seemed odd in character to begin with with the way that she was clothed. Clearing her throat, she put one foot in front of the other starting her way into the city, hoping that she could find someplace that would perhaps help her.

[Ϟ Scar ϟ]

The Drifter found himself in the Kari region. He had walked the distance but that was nothing new to him, he had always walked long distances to get from one place to another. All that he had done in Hallowton stuck firmly in his mind. Did he feel remorse? No but it was something else, he wondered what suffering he had caused, how many people he let die when he could of told them all to run before Jean had triggered the bomb, but the past was the past he could fix it and for his services he obtained a bag of diamonds which he made into cash, he was a drifter, an enigma he didn’t want to be remembered by anyone or anything, that was why he drifted from place to place. Maybe that was what kept him from telling the people to run when he released the gas and blew the tunnels under the castle.


But this world he found himself in was nothing new, villains, heroes, rebels, soldiers it was replica of the events of the last world he was in. Maybe he was a villain, maybe a hero it depended on how you looked on the situation, all actions are criminal but can also be viewed as a form of justice, a thought Jack had once honored but now, justice was a fading thought, he just thought to it when he thought of his father on earth, a sheriff, he was probably dead by now. But that was in another world, so long ago. All he considered his friends, his allies were long forgotten, forgotten from time, all that concerned the drifter now was existing, hidden. Sure he could of just stayed locked up in a room, confessed his crime, be beheaded or whatever twisted form of government and execution the Hallowton knights had but no, he wanted to die in the middle of nowhere, old with a bottle of whiskey in his hand, or even die in a fight.


That’s when he saw it, what his feet had lead him to. A large city, advanced in everyway he could tell, like a sci-fi novel or show something banned in his father’s house of course, western was his dad’s style and because of it Jack stuck out like a sore thumb. He pulled his hat down and pulled the strap on his shotgun around his back to keep it from falling. Despite not fitting in he doubted anyone would care about him, but something told him that he couldn’t get a simple peace of going into a bar, drinking a bottle of whiskey and continue on his way, he knew that in a world like this that was far from the truth. What had happened with his ally, Jean and his employer Bane. He took out a bottle of gin and drank some, might as well enjoy it before he bought a new bottle, of course he would have had to restock on food stuffs here but that didn’t bother him either, his bed would just be the ground and his roof the stars, like they had always been.


In the next moment however he noticed her. She looked as just as much as out of place as he did near the large city. Something nagged in the back of his mind to ignore her but he just felt something about her that interested him. Maybe because she was out of place like him, how different she looked, he couldn’t tell. He screwed the cap back onto his bottle of alcohol still feeling some of the burn that came with it and placed it back into his coat. Some people often joked about his coat being a storage for a million and two things since the drifter never carried a back-pack or other travel gear with him. One he approached, his spurs on his boots clanking obviously telling of his approach. Hs words coming to his head quickly and they rolled out of his mouth gruffly, not a Get off of my lawn gruff, but it was still gruff nonetheless.

"Hi there."

[Saephara]

At the two words uttered behind her, Tifa's feet fell to a stop. She waited for a moment to take in a breath of air then dropped her bag to the ground. Looking over her right shoulder, her black strands fell from her shoulder down her back. Quickly Tifa made an observation of the person whom the voice had come from. The man's height was the first thing that she noticed, the next being the attire that he wore. A slight smirk came across her lips as she thought back to when she wore the same type of attire. It was a bit nostalgic to see someone like that. He had a low brimmed cowboy hat that darkened his facial features, but still revealed that he had quite a broad and strong jawline. His skin was tanned which indicated that he had done some sort of work in the sun over a period of years.

After her initial observations, she turned to face him completely, her sleeveless black jacket being lifted by the steady breeze. The next thought that rushed across her mind was how heavy the coat on his shoulders looked, and it lay quite flat against him. It was an interesting contrasting feature. As a wary measure, her arms lay to her side, fingertips brushing both sides of her cargo pants where her gloves lay. In a strong yet gentle voice, Tifa called out to the man. "Why hello as well. Might I ask who you are?"

[Ϟ Scar ϟ]

Despite his hate being pulled down close to his eyes he was able to examine Tifa. The first thing that he noticed when she turned her head was her eyes. They stood out to him for some reason. Her entire features had reminded him of a raven, the hair, eyes and the clothing she wore. She looked like a fighter to him which wasn’t unexpected from what he could tell of Genesis was that a majority of people were strong and able to fight. He wouldn’t of been surprised if many people were stronger then him, from what he could tell of Jean which was barely anything he seemed much stronger then a normal man and so did the girl standing in front of him.


He wondered what the smirk was about but didn’t dwell on it for long. When she turned he was a bit surprised at her being so well-endowed as he looked her over more. Her outfit seemed a bit different then anything he had ever seen before, it was odd to him but if it was fashion it was fashion, he never did pay much mind to things such as that for a while. Some could even say he was picky about what he wore but it was pretty much always the same thing he wore, brown buster, his hat and all usual clothing someone from the wild west would ever were, it was how he was raised. It was ironic, a mercenary having a moral code.


The name’s Jack Ross but most folk know me as The Drifter, since I wander a lot.”

His arms laid at his sides, his guard down. It was curios to why he didn’t have his guard raised but he never believed in attacking a lady, even if he had done so in Hallowton. He didn’t find women weak, anything but that but it was just more out of manners, something else he firmly believed in. While his lifestyle wasn’t something most people looked up to he rarely cared if people had judged him. But he still had easy access to his Bowie Knife just in case, he never made it a point to hid his weapons, also a moral code. The hilt stuck from his boot which held the knife, a shotgun against his back, the only real thing he hid was his pistols but they were just kept under his coat.

”Sorry if I stopped ya, I was just curios to where I was at.” It was a genuine statement, he didn’t know where he was, it just seemed he should of asked an that he rarely did care about where he wanderer into but he never really talked much when coming into a city and thought it would be a nice change.

[Saephara]

She relaxed at the sincerity of his answer. She, too, was confused as far as to where she was. Perhaps they could travel together? He did not seem to be violent...

Tifa stretched her shoulders out as she responded to him. "No, I do not know where I am, either. I just know this city looks something like where I am from." She bent down to grab her backpack and moved towards Jack, cautiously approaching only to easy any discomfort he may have toward her. When she stood in front of him, she extended her right hand and smiled, saying, "My name is Tifa Lockhart. Nice to meet you, Jack."

[Ϟ Scar ϟ]

So she didn’t even know where they were. He wasn’t upset, he knew it was a strange place; maybe she was also a new arrival. It never mattered to him really, he always wanted to be a new arrival, that person you see but never pay attention to, because Genesis was filled with weirder people for others to look to, he wasn’t a hero or a villain, just a traveler. Even the girl seemed far more interesting then him, the way she looked and he could tell something was interesting about her. She seemed strong to him, possibly stronger then Jean and Jean was able to, from what he understood, hold off the strongest beings in the Hallowton castle. And he knew that Jean could easily outfight him.


He eyed her as she moved to him slowly. He wondered if he had smelled bad, he had just recently washed up, cleaned his clothes but maybe it was his breath, he wasn’t sure about how other people could stand the smell of alcohol. Or maybe she was just being cautious, which he understood, he knew that no one saw him when he bombed Hallowton but he also knew some people were powerful and could sense emotions and other things through body language which he rarely had in the first place. Sometimes people would joke about him being the Heartless Drifter since they never knew him to simple, launch or be merry altogether, heck even some people called him the apathy incarnate.


”Well Miss, Lockhart, nice to meet you too. Since neither of us know where we are, how bout we travel together for a bit, it can get lonely sometimes on the road.” Jack usually traveled alone just to be able to hear himself think to himself but sometimes mixing things up is a good thing. He shook her hand firmly, a gentle kind of firm, no harsh or ill-will towards her. His shoulders somewhat relaxed when he had down so.

[/size]

[Saephara]

"Well then, Jack, we should head into this city and figure out where we are. I need to restock on provisions and rest at an inn if possible...maybe we could split a room? It would be cheaper..." Tifa went on and on, becoming lost in her thoughts as she unconsciously turned and began to walk away into the city. What a warm bath would do for her. She shuddered at the simple thought of washing the grime out of her hair and off her skin. She had not gone too far when she realized that she had left her new companion only steps away.

"Oh dear, I am so sorry about that. I am just so eager to find a place to stay. We should be able to make it before sundown..." Tifa gestured for him to follow and continued on her way. "So where do you come from?"

[Ayen]

The city was buzzing with life perhaps more so than it ever has since he first arrived here with his companion Sherri Magnum. God in Fire by Adel was playing from some of the speakers stationed throughout this sector of the city while Real Emotion by his friend Aminee Starlight was being played on another set of speakers. The large television screens on the side of some of the buildings displayed Luna Lovegood talking about recent happenings in Hallowton as he walked along the pavement. Construction crew heading on over to the race track that was in the process of being built as “Carari Incorporated” was slapped all over everything in town.

Theodore's eyes would spot the pair walking along the streets of Kari who both stuck out like a sole thumb, especially the male who looked like he was pulled straight out of an old spaghetti western. Though with the way people have been stranded in this world there was a strong possibility he was pulled out of an old spaghetti western. Theodore was feeling charitable and decided to see if the pair needed assistance with anything, going over to them and offering them a wave and a warm smile in greeting.

“Hello. Am I correct in assuming the two of you are new in town? Do you need help with anything?”

[Saephara]

Tifa had continued to walk on, assuming that by Jack's silence he wanted to stay a mystery. That was fine with the fighter. She had learned to be quite patient over the span of her life. The road that led from the entrance had turned into a street that led down what seemed to be a main road with stores littering both sides, a variety to include technology, electronics, armor, weapons, and delicious smells of exotic foods she had yet to taste. She had moved to grab Jack's arm to lead him into what looked like an eatery when another man rushed up towards them, waving and smiling at them.

“Hello. Am I correct in assuming the two of you are new in town? Do you need help with anything?”[/i]

Tifa's head tilted to the side in what seemed like thought, a guise for her actual purpose: to survey the newcomer and determine how dangerous he was. He must have been as she and her new traveling friend were: from another world. It wasn't just in how his looks were, it was in how he held himself and his dialect. Sandy blonde hair lay in long length across his head, yet not long enough to constitute as a woman's cut. His eyes were an interesting color, one that she had not even seen in her world. His clothes seemed ordinary enough, though different in a way. With her observation complete and determining him to be minimal threat at the time, Tifa smiled. It must have taken several seconds and he must think the two were mute.

"Ah, yes. We just arrived here and I personally am looking to find a place to stay for the night? I haven't slept in a good quality inn for several days, she stated. Absentmindedly, she brushed the slight patch of dirt off of her black pants, sending the plume to join the air in the sky. Looking up to her companion, she asked,"Jack? Did you want to eat first?"

[Ϟ Scar ϟ]

Jack just stared blankly at Tifa as she began to ramble and turn back to the city. At least she had agreed and allowed him to join her. It was odd having a companion with him, but he would get used to it, it was he who came up with the idea in the first place. And he did need to restock on supplies as well and he would need to get something to eat, he was running low on his rations which he always carried a set amount with him, he never liked having too much or too little food and he knew how to live off of the land just in case so he was always set to be able to survive.


He walked up and followed behind her, listening to her suggestions. He knew it would be had to split money from what he had as currency. Heck he didn’t even know if his currency would be taken in this city. He still had some gold coins from where he had been to before. It seemed odd that he was even paid in diamonds for his job in the first place but they were smaller and easier to hide it made some sense to him. But it would be burdensome to pay for minor things like a stay at an inn or lunch for that matter but he always could trade them in for money at a bank just in case.


Jack studied the town’s surroundings. It reminded him of a much more advanced New York. He made note in his mind of any security, police and anyone else that might guard a quick escape if needed. With his history, in Genesis and elsewhere. It was always nice to flee instead of being killed if you violated something, which Jack had always managed to do in a situation were locals had a habit of not-trusting outsiders. And most people didn’t trust him, mainly because he didn’t look or act like the trusting kind of guy. He never liked talking about his history, experiences or his emotions. He always found it interesting in Western films when the main character was neutral, guided by his own morals and wished to remain hidden.


Jack raised an eyebrow when Theodore came over. He pulled his hat down a little when he waved and smiled. Bah locals, trying to be friendly all the time. You would think they would ignore outsiders but oh well, Jack couldn’t stop a person from talking unless he blew their head off, which also wasn’t liked by locals. He was about to speak but Tifa had managed to say everything he needed to know for the most part and yet again she managed to exactly what he was going to ask about. He didn’t mind much, it just seemed odd that someone would know pretty much all of the basics he asked when he arrived into a town.

”Yeah but I don’t mind where.” Despite his cowboy appearance he wasn’t much of a guy for small talk, he mainly talked when something needed to be said in the first place.

[/size]

[Ayen]

"Ah, yes. We just arrived here and I personally am looking to find a place to stay for the night? I haven't slept in a good quality inn for several days."

“There are several inns all throughout town and a couple of shelters if you're like me and have no money... I'd be more than happy to show them to you.”

"Jack? Did you want to eat first?"

”Yeah but I don’t mind where.”

“Are you guys having any specific cravings? Because there's a lot of places to eat here too as you can no doubt imagine in a place this big. It just depends on what you want to eat.”

[Saephara]

From what the man in front of them was indicating, this massive city had a variety of things that she couldn't wait to try. Tifa's mouth practically watered as she thought of the wonders that must be made here. "I'm sure that we can figure something out with what money I do have in my pocket, though Jack probably has a better chance of carrying this world's currency than I do...perhaps..." She shifted the bag on her back once again and a clanking sound resounded from it. A frown covered Tifa's face as she knelt down and placed the bag on the ground, opening one of the pockets to view the contents: her Materia.

She quickly viewed them, pulling them out one by one to check for any damage. If she lost these, she'd only have her brute physical strength to rely on. Who knew what lie around the corner? Tifa quickly stood again and readjusted the bag one last time before tugging on one of Jake's coat sleeves, motioning over to the closest restaurant. "Can we go over there? It smells delightful." Her eyes were turned up to Jack with the question, excitement and hunger overtaking her thoughts, then switched to the blonde man. "Please?"

[Ϟ Scar ϟ]

Jack’s head moved when Tifa placed her bag on the ground and looked it. Jack had no idea what they could have been but they looked like some kind of power source. But it was her own business as to what the orbs were. It wasn’t his place to look into someone else’s past when he himself wanted to remain unknown, ominous by the majority. It would be inappropriate for him to snoop into a person’s personal life. So he decided to look around the town. It was an odd place, like it was centered on entertainment yet he could feel a subtle military feel to it. It seemed much like a futuristic America, people loving fun yet it held high strengths in it.


His head turned to Tifa when she tugged on his coat. A small frown showed itself but he turned back to a neutral demeanor on his face. He had to admit, it had been a while since he had a hot meal. He pulled his hat up a bit but his eyes were still hidden under the shadow of the hat. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed a bit. Well at least now he would have a “Women’s touch” to aid him in his travels. But if this new company, the local decided to come along it would be harder to stay unnoticed, even more so with the money he carried. He nodded a bit and gestured Tifa to the restaurant. His hand went back to his side and returned a hand to his pocket.

”Go ahead. I want to ask our new friend a question”


He turned back to the blonde that had greeted the two. His hand went into his coat and he felt around a bit until his hand felt a familiar shape. He pulled it out but kept a closed fist around the jewel. He tossed it to the blonde and rubbed his shoulder a bit. Of course the man could run off with the diamond but he had a lot more from where that came from. He needed local currency while still keeping diamonds for other lands he might travel to in the future if needed. He didn’t just want to give away the jewels to everyone at every small shop or location. He then gruffly said to the man.

” Since you’re a local maybe you could make a transaction for me. I assume diamonds are still valuable so could you trade this in for some currency?”

[/size]

[Saephara]

Tifa decided to stay near Jack after he said for her to rush ahead. It wouldn't be fair for her to begin eating without her new found companion. She turned her back to them as her attention strayed to the surroundings and subtly approved of the environment. It was open and airy, the buildings rising tall above her. It was utterly impressive. She could only wonder who the architect was that constructed this city. A thought struck her suddenly as Jack asked about diamonds. She asked, "Wait a minute Jack. He may be a local here but who is he really?" She turned halfway back to face the two men, a questioning gleam entering her eyes.

[Ayen]

"I'm sure that we can figure something out with what money I do have in my pocket, though Jack probably has a better chance of carrying this world's currency than I do...perhaps..."

“From what I understand the banks here have been doing a good job of converting foreign currency to their own. You may be able to make an exchange.”

Ted looked down to the opened bag and saw the materias inside. To him they only appeared as round glowing balls that peaked his curiosity.

“And if you don't mind my asking, what are those things you have in the bag? I've never seen anything like them.”

"Can we go over there? It smells delightful. Please?"

”Go ahead. I want to ask our new friend a question. Since you’re a local maybe you could make a transaction for me. I assume diamonds are still valuable so could you trade this in for some currency?”

"Wait a minute Jack. He may be a local here but who is he really?"

“I'm a scientist but I see no reason why you can't make the transaction yourself. All you need to give them is a name and an ID card.”